NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 57
Chapter 57. Various Ways to Drop a Parachute (4)
Predicting the second mission was not difficult.
‘Well, it’s the survival rule of thumb, isn’t it?’
〜〚TO THE TOP〛〜
“Your second mission is a cover song.”
It was about catching up with the awesome hit songs of our senior idols.
“There are many stars shining in the music industry right now. Through this mission, you will reinterpret the songs of senior artists in your own style.”
“You can either bring out 100% of the original charm or completely change it into your own style. The important thing is how much you can shine within that.”
Seo Taeil, ever the professional, recited that long sentence without a single NG. At times like this, it’s not good to stay too quiet. At least pretend to be a bit surprised to get more airtime.
‘But I can roughly guess what kind of songs will come out anyway.’
Copyrights are trickier and more expensive than you might think, so most programs like this tend to choose songs with fewer copyright issues. Especially when involving an outsourced production company, they’d want to save on copyright fees.
So, in the end, the method chosen for such agency survival programs is―.
‘Using the songs of their direct senior artists.’
If there are successful idol seniors like in Miro, this method is even more preferable.
The production company saves on copyright fees,
the broadcasting station avoids risky songs,
and the senior artists get some mentoring screen time.
It’s not just killing two birds with one stone; it’s like killing seventeen birds with one stone in terms of cost-effectiveness.
‘The question is, out of all those hit songs, which ones will come up….’
“Now, we’ll first reveal the keywords for the mission songs you have to cover!”
With Seo Taeil’s comment, the electronic display lit up. With a strong sound effect, words appeared on the screen as if they were engraved.
〜〚TO THE TOP〛〜
BLUE SCANDLE (7)
Cinderella (6)
SAD ENDING (5)
“There are a total of three mission songs, and you can choose your songs based on your rankings from the last mission.”
“The slots for each song are on a first-come, first-served basis, and once a team’s slots are filled, you’ll select your leader and proceed with discussions.”
‘Three songs.’
I stared at the three keywords on the screen. Jung Siwoo, sitting next to me, leaned in and asked.
“Which one are you going for?”
“Me? Why, are you going to follow me?”
“Well, won’t I get to choose before you?”
“…I can’t deny that.”
I closed my mouth in the face of the confident ‘pureblood’ Wings’ celestial being. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like a time to take reactions. Thinking it’d be good to chat a bit to get more screen time, I answered while looking at the screen.
“Well… I’m leaning towards BLUE SCANDLE.”
I could roughly guess what kind of song it was.
“I like blue.”
That’s definitely Utopia’s debut song. The title is “Blue Scandal,” written and composed by Seo Taeil.
And,
– Try slurring the pronunciation a bit more in that racing part.
– It should sound like it rhymes with ‘up to here.’
– Yes, Kang Hajin. Good job.
It was also my audition song for Miro.
‘No need to challenge myself with another song when the original author already approved of it.’
With seven slots available, even if all the Wings guys went crazy and chose the same song, it wouldn’t matter. This time, I could finally pick the song I wanted….
“Before selecting teams, there’s an announcement.”
…Or so I thought.
“In the last battle, the winning trainees, Han Sungwoo and Lee Yugeon.”
“The two trainees are granted the right to assign songs to the losing trainees.”
‘What the hell is this nonsense?’
My eyes nearly popped out.
Do what? That wasn’t mentioned!
As I burst into laughter in disbelief, I saw Han Sungwoo sitting across from me. Without a hint of surprise, he wore a smug smile on his smeared lip balm-like face, and I was certain.
‘It’s that bastard.’
Did I provoke him too much last time? I had hoped to make him snap and act out, but I didn’t expect such quick and precise feedback.
“Now, Lee Yugeon, please choose your song and the song for trainee Kim Wonho.”
Apparently, Lee Yugeon had a higher ranking than Han Sungwoo, so he got to choose first. Lee Yugeon, who had been silent, hesitantly stood up.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t had a single conversation with this guy.’
We just hadn’t crossed paths. Since he was sitting next to me, I took the opportunity to observe Lee Yugeon. He had sharp eyes and striking features. People said he looked a bit like Lee Doha.
But if Lee Doha looked like a mafia boss who would wear a three-piece suit with a tie pin and gloves, Lee Yugeon looked like he’d be skating at dawn and painting graffiti. He had a typically dinosaur-like face. Maybe it was because of his short lower jaw.
‘And he dances quite delicately.’
Scratching the back of his head, Lee Yugeon received the hand mic from the assistant director. Kim Wonho, sitting across from me, looked as bewildered as I was, as if asking, ‘What kind of calamity is this?’
“I’ll choose… Blue Scandal.”
Lee Yugeon’s choice was displayed on the screen, changing the number of available slots. Now it was time to choose Kim Wonho’s song.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
Why was this guy suddenly calling me?
“What song do you think Kim Wonho would like?”
“Huh?”
I felt like my eyes were about to pop out again at Lee Yugeon’s sudden question. Why ask me, dude?
“To avoid choosing it if I know?”
“No, to choose it for him.”
“……?”
“Hurry. You’re close with him, right?”
Now he was even urging me to give him an answer. I looked at Kim Wonho, who was staring at us from across the room. With a desperate face, he was pleading ‘please’ with his fingers extended.
“…I guess Cinderella?”
“I’ll choose Cinderella.”
As I guessed, he meant Enderway’s recent hit song Cinderella. Without a second thought, Lee Yugeon made the decision. Kim Wonho, who had been desperately begging, looked surprised and let out a gasp.
I couldn’t understand the situation, but Lee Yugeon nonchalantly returned the mic and sat back down next to me.
“You….”
“Next, Han Sungwoo?”
I wanted to ask more, but I realized it wasn’t the time and quickly turned my head. Han Sungwoo, who looked like a deflated dumpling, stood up.
“I’ll choose… Blue Scandal.”
‘Ha, I’m doomed.’
His hesitation-free choice suggested that he also knew what Blue Scandal was. Well, of course, with a CP backing him.
But that wasn’t the issue. There was no way Han Sungwoo would place me on the same team, so Blue Scandal was out of the question, and he knew I was close with Kim Wonho, so the chance of being placed on the Cinderella team was zero.
What’s left was….
“Hajin, I’ll assign you to Sad Ending.”
It had to be the third song, Sad Ending, which I couldn’t even guess what it was. Damn it!
* * *
The only good thing was that my team wasn’t too bad.
“Dan Haru, come here. There’s water over there.”
“Oh, yes!”
Seo Taehyun brought over Dan Haru, who was scurrying around the practice room. There were five slots for Sad Ending. Han Sungwoo forced me in, and two from the Feather class who had no choice, but Seo Taehyun and Dan Haru were definite bonuses.
Especially, Seo Taehyun.
‘I thought he would definitely choose Cinderella.’
That song was likely Enderway’s recent hit
‘That’s Seo Taehyun’s specialty.’
Well, he must have had his reasons. Anyway, it was a huge gain for me. The Feather class guys who were forced in were not a problem either.
“Park Jaeyoung, come and sit here.”
“Yes.”
Park Jaeyoung, who was rumored to drop out, fortunately returned to the program after recovering from his cold. Apparently, he persuaded his parents who were strongly opposed.
And about Park Jaeyoung’s return, the system commented as follows.
[System Alert: Actually, Park Jaeyoung’s dropout was a fixed future event.]
[System Alert: But for some reason, the process of rejoining was added this time.]
[System Alert: Perhaps the ‘survival’ implementation was the variable. The fixed event was fulfilled by him missing the first mission.]
It was a concept hard to understand, but anyway, it was a relief for me, who felt somewhat guilty towards this guy. The other one, Jaden, was also a guy with no big issues in the last mission.
“Now, let’s reveal the song’s identity.”
The five of us sat huddled together. Holding the cue card handed by the production team, I prayed sincerely.
‘Please. Let it not be some absurdly difficult song.’
Dear cost-saving production crew, I believe in your sense.
If some full band rock sound from the disbanded Project W (an ex-director’s work) pops out, I’ll just hit Han Sung
woo once and regress.
[System Alert: Hey, threatening to regress all the time is a very bad habit!]
Shut up unless you’re going to hit Han Sungwoo for me.
“Should I open it? Should I? Should I really open it?”
“Oh, wait! Ah! No! I can’t look!”
“What do we do! Taehyun, my heart is racing.”
“If it doesn’t race, you’re dead! Ah, Haru!”
“Hy-hyung! I-I can’t breathe!!”
It’s more fun to tease like this.
While pretending to open the cue card with the song title, Seo Taehyun, who knew the broadcast ecosystem well, hugged Dan Haru’s head and played along. Making such a fuss, even the Feather class guys who seemed indifferent started covering their mouths.
“Drum roll―.”
“One, two….”
“Wow, I’m going crazy.”
“Three!”
What was written on that square piece of paper, fortunately, wasn’t an unknown song as I feared.
〜〚TO THE TOP〛〜
SAD ENDING
However, it was an unexpected selection.
“Sarin senior?”
Sarin. Who is she?
In this crazy music industry where everyone groups up to debut as idol groups, she boldly debuted as a soloist. She is also the representative singer of the solo artist specialized agency ‘Lime Entertainment,’ which was one of my audition candidates.
Her strength lies in singing emotional breakup songs with a deep voice, and every OST she sings becomes a hit, earning her the title of OST queen.
Among her many hit OSTs, her signature song is this one.
Then why did this heartfelt ballad, which is neither an agency senior’s song nor an idol song, suddenly appear in Miro’s survival?
“Oh, this song…. It was written by Seo Taeil.”
Exactly.
‘A great balance of variety and cost-saving.’
“Well, it’s a relief. At least it’s not an unknown song.”
“I like this song too! I already memorized the lyrics.”
Fortunately, everyone seemed familiar with the song despite its age. That’s a relief.
“…….”
I closed my mouth with a perplexed expression and made eye contact with Seo Taehyun. Judging by his unperturbed reaction, he must have intentionally chosen this song, knowing what it was.
Well, it’s not surprising since he’s quick-witted.
‘Regardless of why Seo Taehyun chose this song….’
Humming the melody that automatically came to mind, I laughed bitterly.
‘There’s no easy way!’
Those stingy production crew.
Even if it’s cost-effective, how could they include such a high-difficulty deep ballad in an idol survival?